Monday, October 24, 2011

Standing Together
By Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa
Published in The Detroit News on October 12, 2011

Jobs are coming back from China, Mexico and Japan: Thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs, all at the Ford Motor Co.

Last week, the United Auto Workers and Ford negotiated a tentative agreement that will bring 5,750 UAW jobs back from overseas, in addition to the 6,250 jobs previously announced by the company.

Those 12,000 jobs will throw off another 108,000 jobs for suppliers and other businesses because of the multiplier effect of the automotive industry. And that's not even counting the 6,400 new U.S. jobs at GM the union negotiated a few weeks ago.

These jobs aren't the result of tax cuts or getting rid of regulations. These jobs are the result of a union and an employer sitting down at the table and talking.

Collective bargaining works. Collective bargaining rights make a decent, middle-class life possible for millions of U.S. workers. But many corporations and elected officials are hell-bent on taking them away. And it isn't just organized labor they're attacking.

A war is being waged against American workers. The economic survival they once took for granted is less and less certain. The dangers of plant closures, unemployment, indebtedness and medical catastrophe loom closer even as our standard of living slowly erodes.

Workers have always had to stand together and fight for a fair wage, health benefits and retirement with dignity. And that's why labor unions fit right in with the protesters who are occupying Wall Street and dozens of other cities. Union members have always fought for the people in the street.

My friend Bob King, UAW president, likes to tell the story of how his union staged one of the first occupations ever — Occupy Flint. It's the story of the Flint sit-down strike.

On the night of Dec. 30, 1936, GM workers stopped the loading of dies to be shipped from the Fisher Body Plant to plants with weaker unions. They locked themselves in the plant and sat down for six weeks. They faced down the police, the National Guard and the company. Like the Occupy Wall Street protesters, they were fed by supporters who donated food. Like the Occupy Wall Street protesters, they formed a community, assigning groups to guard, clean, gather news and handle food. Some played musical instruments.

By Feb. 11, they negotiated a deal with GM, winning collective bargaining rights in 17 plants, a 5 percent wage hike and the right to speak in the lunch room. It was the birth of the UAW.

As Bob will tell you, those workers took militant, nonviolent, direct action against the most powerful corporation in the world. Everybody said they would lose. But they stood together. They took thoughtful, strategic, direct action. They won an overwhelming victory. And the UAW and the Teamsters went on to build the middle class throughout the industrial heartland.

Today, the 99 percent are taking militant, nonviolent direct action in Lower Manhattan. They're camped out in front of Los Angeles City Hall and the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and in Boston's Financial District. They'll be in downtown Detroit on Friday. They're a long way from an overwhelming victory. But so were those UAW workers when they first locked the doors in Flint.

Conway has been giving meetings on improving our concerns and issues, and also telling us we will see a pay increase of $1 to $3 in the future.
Well I like to address something to Conway corporate, Conway can you put this in black and white? Can all you corporate mangers of Conway guaranteed this in writing?
Also, I know Conway corporate will start union busting our Rights to form our union, and when Conway starts showing us Anti-Union video and captive meetings on how the union is the wrong way to go…
Then we the employees of Conway demand Conway corporate to also put this in writing and sign it, that every propaganda Conway passes out about how bad the unions are, will also be in writing and guaranteed by Conway corporate.
The choice, as a Conway employee union committee leader, I rather have union dues every month and be a member of our union, than to have $1 to $3 dollar raise for more corporate abuse of us employees.
Once we demand recognition of unionism, then we will have a contract that’s ratify by us future members, meaning better wage increase, better pension plans and better medical plan.
With a contract thats been voted by us as future union members, and not created by corporate only, the contract will be assemble by the employees and Conway corporate.
With a contract, it will improve our working conditions and eliminate corporate abuse!!!
To all my coworkers, educate yourself and educate others, recognize corporate propaganda, listen to corporate and do your homework, because corporate only wants to make it into a one way street.
Do your homework; you have the rights to see what a union offers, and be wise and organize.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Brothers and Sisters, are we gonna let greedy management of Conway destroy our family? Family of Conway that's worked for almost a quarter of a century.
Greedy management are destroying the seniority roster, for cheaper wages, to hired young blood from the neck down.
We are seeing our brothers getting fired, for unjustified issues that don't relate to our corporate policy, just so management doesn't get their wages cut.
They are taking it out on you, stand up for your Rights!!!
Organize now!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Here is my analysis, FedEx employees are paying $69 a week for PPO and $89 for HMO (KAISER) per week. PLUS CO-PAYMENT $25 for PPO $35 HMO visitation and prescription payment, plus $30 lab work. Conway employees are paying $ 105 per week for PPO, Plus co-payment for visitation and prescription co-payment and also $30 for lab work. ABF, YRC, UPS PACKAGE, Pay nothing per week, they have choices of PPO'S, HMO'S. $10 visitation, $5 prescription. What do you want? To be At Will with no choice, and no fiduciary trusted person to represent the employees. Or to be a union member, and not be an At Will employee, and to be able to vote and select a trusted fiduciary member and to represent us employees.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Herb Greenberg reported on CEOs on the hot seat in his latest column. He included a reference to Sears Holdings (NYSE: SHLD) CEO Alwyn Lewis, who may be poised to serve as sacrificial lamb for the company's failed turnaround -- which should probably be blamed on chairman Eddie Lampert, because he controls the company's investments and failure to invest in its stores.
Greenberg notes that, "Still, with a 2006 salary of $1 million and total compensation of $4.8 million, it would appear that unless Sears reports exceptional fourth-quarter results, Lewis may be on the path to scapegoat, which might not be so bad: If he's fired for what the company calls "constructive termination," he will get a cash payment of $3 million with a total package valued at $22.9 million. A Sears spokeswoman declined to comment. "
I've heard the phrase "constructive termination" before but never really given it much thought. Lewis' employment agreement defines this phrase as Lewis' voluntary resignation following a board stripping him of his titles, an adverse change in his responsibilities, or even a reduction (heaven forbid!) in his base salary and/or bonus.
This is about as great of an example of management gibberish as you'll ever come across -- and sadly it exists in the employment agreements of many executives. Constructive termination means resigning after you've essentially been fired. Calling it constructive is like saying that kicking someone in the groin for giving a wrong answer in math class is constructive criticism.
It would appear that this idea of constructive termination is a key factor in allowing executives who are essentially fired to walk away with huge, or even moderate, severance packages. Why should someone who's fired for bad performance even get severance?
Hopefully shareholder activists will take this issue on in the future.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

this is only a glimpse of our future if we do not act accordingly. we need to organize!

Monday, October 17, 2011

UNITE means to Join,Combine or join in some Action .United means to Join together.and Unity means the state or fact of being ONE. Guys all i have to say is staying together as one you will be United and Unity will Prevail in your fight to be Great TEAMSTERS.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Friday, October 14, 2011

First casualty today

We had our first casualty of the GPS tracking today. He was tracked driving to Fredrickstown, Ohio from XCO. He was tracked on the way back. Its 54 miles from the terminal. Got popped for taking 23 minutes longer to get back. He was terminated today.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I'm Richard Perez a 17 yr.employee that was wrongfully fired from Conway at ULX L.A. Downtown Service Center. My termination was a retaliation from Paul Styers ULX Manager for going to a few union meetings to know my rights. I've been harassed by this manager for over a year. Write ups on log book just because I forgot to total my hours when other drivers didn't do a log when they were suppose to. To top it off management would put a list of drivers name on the dispatch window for drivers can correct thier log book and never got write ups. WHY DIDN'T I GET THAT SAME TREATMENT? In the last two weeks of my employement my hours were getting cut as I would come into work because management wanted to save money, but yet there would be special privleges to certain drivers that were on 3 to 4 HOURS of "OVERTIME". When I questioned Mr. Styers about it, everyday was a different answer. I even got called into the office the following week because I didn't say "good moring" to Mr. Styers one morning. Safety meetings with inbound shift, city drivers and outbound shift on a daily weekly basis. What happen to the saftey or informational meetings with the Line Drivers? Company Policies only come into effect when it's at thier convience to write an employee up with an L.O.I. or to TERMINATE EMPLOYEES. "DRIVERS, TIME TO STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS"!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

In some ways, Con-way Freight, with $3.1 billion in revenue last year, fared better over the past two years than its largest competitors, YRC and FedEx Freight. Both of those companies posted substantial losses while Con-way managed to keep its LTL operation in the black, even with tighter margins. Con-way

Join a union.
Attend a union meeting on your own time.
Talk to a union organizer.
Declare yourself a union supporter.
Assist in forming a union.

Employers are forbidden by law to engage in certain conduct. Your employer may NOT legally:

Threaten you with discharge or punishment if you engage in union activity.
Threaten to shut down business if workers form a union.
Prevent you from soliciting members during non-working hours.
Question you about union matters, union meetings, or union supporters.
Ask you how you or other workers intend to vote in an election.
Ask you whether you belong to a union or have signed up to join a union.
Transfer you to or assign you to a less desirable work assignment because of your union activity.
Threaten to terminate your benefits because you unionize.
Threaten a layoff or loss of jobs in retaliation for voting for a union.

HOW CAN MY WORKPLACE BECOME A UNION WORKPLACE?

The Process:

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provides a process to allow your workplace to become a Union Workplace. This process culminates in an election that is legally binding upon your employer. Those eligible to vote in this election are known by the NLRB as Bargaining Unit Employees. They are your co-workers. It is important to know that "Supervisors and Management" are not allowed in the bargaining unit and therefore do not vote!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Conway employees. This website is here for you to learn what it takes to become a unionized company. To conquer our fears of the unknown. And to communicate with each other on our goal of becoming proud and productive TEAMSTERS!

Clerical workers at UPS Freight, who are former employees of Overnite Transporation, a trucking company UPS acquired several years ago, have voted to join the Teamsters, according to a union statement.
The group includes workers in Fontana and Rialto, which is represented by Local 63. There are almost 1,000 workers nationally, with other facilities located in New York, Indiana and Massachusetts.
The group includes full- and part-time staff that does billing, operations and dispatch work. The Teamsters represent most UPS employees.

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Several studies have been done that have demonstrated that less than 1% of locals had corruption problems. Contrast this with a 1980 investigation into corporate corruption by Fortune magazine that found that corporate corruption ran at 11%.